Yuhan Corp. said that it would develop a new drug with Cyclica, a Canadian Biotech firm, using the latter's artificial intelligence-based integrated drug candidate discovery platform.

Yuhan's headquarters in Daebang-dong, Seoul.

The company plans to apply Cyclica's platform into two of its R&D programs.

Yuhan signed the contract as part of its efforts to introduce innovative technologies for drug development. The company expects to acquire candidates with physicochemical properties suitable for the characteristics of the two selected R&D programs through Cyclica's platform quickly.

Cyclica's platform differs from other AI drug development platforms in that it selects and considers the pharmacological, physicochemical, and in-vivo kinetics of candidate substances bound to drug targets, Yuhan said in a press release.

Under the contract, Cyclica will receive a down payment and milestone payments for specific achievements. The two companies also will continue to establish long-term partnerships to identify candidates and strengthen R&D in areas that have a high unmet medical need.

"We are pleased to conduct joint research using Cyclica's platform and look forward to expanding the cooperation opportunities between the two companies based on this joint research," Yuhan Corp. CEO Lee Jung-hee said.

Yuhan will do its best to introduce the latest technologies, including AI and big data, to lower the cost and shorten the time for drug development, and develop the best new drug to provide it for patients at a low price, Lee added.

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